Vuelio’s acquisition of ResponseSource is the third deal among PR and marketing tool vendors in the last month. The march of machines is undeniable.

Merger and acquisition activity is a sure sign of a market maturing. In the past month there have been three deals among PR and marketing tools vendors.

Brandwatch and Crimson Hexagon

In the largest of the three deals social media intelligence platforms Brandwatch and Crimson Hexagon announced a merger last week. Both vendors are focused on helping brands understand online customer behaviour.

“The merger allows us to accelerate towards that vision and move beyond social listening to innovate at the cross section of brand, market, and consumer intelligence,” said Giles Palmer, CEO, Brandwatch.

Maru Group and Lissted

Customer insights group Maru Group acquired social listening software Lissted in September. It identifies key influencers in Twitter communities and provides real time insight.

“Maru’s acquisition of Lissted will equip our clients with even greater targeted, relevant and real-time social media insights. We are excited to bring the software on board, said Ged Parton, CEO, Maru Group.

Vuelio and ResponseSource

Today Vuelio, a provider of media and influencer intelligence tools has acquired journalist request and media database provider ResponseSource. It’s a great exit for entrepreneur Daryl Willcox and the team that started ResponseSource in 1998.

ResponseSource and Vuelio are complimentary. The media and influencer services will be integrated and Vuelio customers will have the option to access the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service, which allows journalists to directly request information from PR professionals.

“ResponseSource’s trusted journalist services are representative of the strong links between the team and the journalist community,” said Joanna Arnold, CEO, Vuelio.

The three deals are all very difference in scale and the market that they address but all three point to the increasing use of machine intelligence in PR.